Smiles for a Cause

In honor of May as Better Speech and Hearing Month, the speech and language department at Sylvan Avenue Elementary School in the Bayport-Blue Point School District once again coordinated a schoolwide fundraising effort to support Smile Train, a nonprofit organization devoted to helping the millions of children in the world who suffer with cleft lips and palates. This organization provides free surgery, free training for doctors and research in order to help find a cure for these conditions, and for the past five years the school has helped aid them in their mission.

Joining together as a school, Sylvan Avenue students and staff participated in a weeklong awareness effort for the cause. They coordinated their school outfits according to different theme days and helped raise funds for Smile Train by collecting donations leading up to the school’s “Walk a Mile for a Smile” fundraiser. This year, the school raised $3,600 for the organization. When coupled with their corporate sponsor match, the students’ donations will help to provide surgery for 42 children.

Since 1999, Smile Train has provided free cleft palate surgery to more than 580,000 children who would have otherwise never received it. They have also helped train tens of thousands of medical professionals and have established programs in over 75 countries.